Conrad II of Sicily

Conrad II of Sicily (25 March 1252-29 October 1268), also known as Conradin or Conrad III of Jerusalem, was the King of Sicily and Jerusalem from 1254 to 1268, succeeding Conrad II of Jerusalem and preceding Manfred of Sicily and Hugh I of Jerusalem.

Biography
Conradin was born on 25 March 1252 to Conrad IV of Germany and Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, and he grew up with his uncle Duke Ludwig II of Bavaria, as his father died when he was two. He assumed the Kingdom of Sicily, Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Duchy of Swabia on his father's death, but Pope Alexander IV refused to crown him as King of Italy and offered the House of Hohenstaufen's lands in Germany to Alfonso X of Castile. While he was young, his relative Manfred of Sicily served as regent for Sicily, but in 1258 he usurped the throne after claiming that Conradin was dead. Ludwig II of Bavaria declined the invitation by Florence for Conradin to invade Sicily and reclaim his title, and Charles of Anjou defeated Manfred at the Battle of Benevento in 1266 and claimed Sicily for the House of Anjou.

Conradin declared war on Charles as Sicily rebelled against Angevin rule, and he gathered an army that included Italian knights from Pisa, a Spanish fleet under Frederick of Castile, Spanish soldiers from Tunis, Romans, Arabs, and Germans, and on 23 August 1268 he fought Charles at Tagliacozzo. The House of Hohenstaufen army's Spanish knights nearly won the day, but the decision to plunder the Angevin camp allowed the French to gain reinforcements and defeat their enemies. Conrad and Frederick I of Baden were both imprisoned by Charles and beheaded for "treason" in Naples on 29 October 1268.